The Christmas season is in full swing at our house, which means the story of the nutcracker has filled our home, hearts, and minds once again. Music from the ballet can be heard on a daily basis. Excitement is in the air as we get closer and closer to attending The Nutcracker Ballet. As we prepare for the performance Sunshine is enjoying our Nutcracker Unit 2 with free printables.

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This Christmas is the first year that Sunshine is developmentally old enough to become excited about the holiday season and understand all that's going on. Though she won't be attending the ballet with us, she is joining us for our annual reading of the story by E. T. A. Hoffman. She will also have her very own Nutcracker Unit, which she is madly in love with and quite territorial about already.

We hope you enjoy the activities as much as we do!

Language

Pre-Writing Sand Tray Activity

Sunshine will begin to work on her pre-writing skills using the sand tray. I have selected curves for our shelves this week. Bright red sand is being used for this activity.

Math

Nutcracker Patterns

This may just be one of my favorite activities on our shelves this week. Each pattern is created on a 1.5 inch thick rectangler piece of of Styrofoam. Sunshine can remove each pattern from the tray easily to complete the activity.

Patterns are created using cupcake toppers from my Meri Meri the Nutcracker Tale Cupcake Kit. I purchased this kit years ago for a minimal price at a local store. If you're unable to find this kit, any dollar store or craft store Christmas themed cupcake toppers will do. Sunshine will use the cupcake toppers provided to complete the patterns.

Nutcracker Themed Size Sorting Activity

Sunshine will sort the objects in the baskets placing them under the labels small, medium or large. As a control, I have included three of every object, each of varying size to compare.

I used objects relating to the story of the nutcracker that we had on hand at home. As I continue to shop this holiday season I may just look for some ballerina ornaments etc., to add to our activity.

Source: I created the printable for this activity as part of my Nutcracker Unit Printable Pack 2. For your free copy, click on the link at the bottom of this post.

Botany

Sorting Nuts

There are very few that can understand my excitement over this nut sorting activity. This is the first year EVER in the history of our family that we haven't had someone allergic to tree nuts. Bulldozer outgrew his allergy this year, which we can't be thankful for enough.

All of the kiddos have been dying to get their hands on this activity, because it's so new to all of them. Sunshine is the first to tell everyone else not to touch it because it is HER activity. Lol. Sunshine will sort the nuts provided, placing them under the sorting cards.

Zoology

Mouse Match Up

It only seemed fitting to learn about mice as part of our Nutcracker Unit. Sunshine will sort and match the mouse cards provided. Since Sunshine is just beginning to understand letters, I did not include the names of the mice on each card. Instead we'll focus on colors and characteristics.

Source: I created the printable for this activity as part of my Nutcracker Printable Pack 2. For your free copy, click on the link at the bottom of this post.

Culture

Decorating a Christmas Tree

The Nutcracker starts out at a Christmas party with a beautifully decorated Christmas tree. In this activity Sunshine will be able to decorate her own Christmas tree using the small ornaments provided.

The Story of the Nutcracker

There are several books written about the story of the nutcracker. This week we've decided to include Nutcracker Twinkle Toes by Karen Katz on our shelves. As the week goes on, if I feel that Sunshine is ready for another book, I'll add it. Fantastic Fun & Learning has a fabulous list of Nutcracker themed books, if you need some ideas for your shelves.

Music

Introduction to the Tambourine in the Russian Dance from The Nutcracker Suite

Sunshine LOVES music. I'm so excited to start introducing her to instruments, the orchestra, and so much more. In this activity she'll be introduced to the tambourine. First, she'll be able to play it to hear what it sounds like. Second, she'll watch the Berlin Philharmonic play the Russian Dance from The Nutcracker Suite on the iPad.

As she watches the orchestra play, she'll be able to listen and hear the tambourine. Then she will be able to watch it being played, all the while playing along and listening to one of our favorite pieces from Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite.

Art

Ballet in Art Puzzles

When choosing this activity, Sunshine will put two piece puzzles together to create famous ballet scenes in art. I have only selected four puzzles to start with, so as not to overwhelm her. If she does well with this activity, I may add more.

Source: The puzzles for this activity were created by Anastasia at Montessori Nature and can be purchased for a small fee.

Practical Life

Nutcracker Cutting Practice

During this unit, we'll be introducing Sunshine to scissors for the first time. It is my hope that all goes well. Sunshine will cut along the gray lines, placing the nutcracker pictures in the bowl provided.

Source: The free printable for this activity can be found at 3 Dinosaurs as part the Nutcracker Tot Pack.

Sensorial

Ribbon Matching

For this activity, Sunshine will be blindfolded with the red napkin provided. She will then use her sense of touch to match pieces of ribbon provided. I used ribbon we had on hand at home, but one could use lace, or any number of options to enhance the activity.

I am so excited for Sunshine this year, as she is introduced to the magic of the nutcracker for the first time through the story, learning activities, music and ballet.

This week we're very busy preparing for several events that kick off our holiday season. I'll be back soon with new activities, but didn't want to forget to share some amazing features linked up this week! Enjoy!

Now it’s time for this week’s link party! This new link up is for all blog posts that include learn and play activities and hands-on education for kids. We are excited to read your blog posts and to see what you have to share! Please link up below and grab our button to display on your blog.

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